Portable floor treatment machine



April 1968 R. s. STEVENSON 3,377,639

PORTABLE FLOOR TREATMENT MACHINE Filed June 14, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 b a a a 8 k v D O f E I\\ I Q n ll ii' I WE t, la i I I 1|: N I 2 Q I g a a I 0 0'1 -b INVENTOR R R0 5. STEVENSON S %3;; g B BY A ORNEY' April 16, 1968 R. s. STEVENSON PORTABLE FLOOR TREATMENT MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 5v Filed June 14, 1965 RI. Jig

INVENTOR R05 5. s TE vs/vso/v BY M AT ORNEY United States Patent 3,377,639 PORTABLE FLOOR TREATMENT MACHINE Ross S. Stevenson, Oakland, Calif. (4218 Graham St, Pleasanton, Calif. 94566) Filed June 14, 1965, Ser. No. 463,561 6 Claims. (CI. -98) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A floor treating machine having a rotary floor engaging applicator. The applicator is generally cylindrical and rotatable about a horizontal axis parallel to the floor surface being treated. The applicator may be driven by movement of the machine or by a self-contained motor. The applicator and its drive is split to provide two matching cylinders that may be independently driven.

This invention rel-ates to a portable floor treatment machine and more particularly to a portable machine that may be used in such operations as the application of wax to a floor surface, the stripping of wax layers from a floor surface, or the scrubbing of a flooring surface.

Floor treatment with power equipment has become increasingly desirable for reasons such as labor and material costs and the time available to clean and wax floor surfaces.

Many powered devices have been employed, but most have been unsatisfactory because of speed, or flexibility or,:rnore usually, because they have not been capable of applying a uniform layer of waxing or cleaning material. The nonuniformity of the layer of the material caused the treated surfaces to be streaked and unattractive. Most of the prior art devices have employed rotary scrubbers and applicators having bristled brushes. These rotary devices have had limited acceptance because their operation inherently produces swirls and leaves marks from the bristles in both a scrubbing process and an application of the wax materials. The present invention is directed to an apparatus for treating floor surfaces that substantially eliminates marking or streaking of a floor surface in the process of cleaning and waxing and particularly so for those marks or streaks caused by the applicator brushes employed.

In the portable floor treatment device of the present invention a relatively soft, tubular, fluid carrying applicator is employed to apply the floor waxing or treating fluids to the floor being treated. The applicator is backed by a substantially rigid tubular carrying frame and the frame is driven with the axis of the tubular form parallel to the surface being treated. The rotation of the tubular form and the applicator is such that the applying surface of the applicator travels in a direction opposite to the relative direction of the floor under the applicator. The drive to the applicator in one form of the invention is derived from the movement of the portable floor treatment machine while the machine is moved to treat the floor surfaces behind itself. As an additional feature, the applicator pads are readily removable from the backing tube so as to be easily cleaned between uses.

The object of the present invention is an improved portable floor Waxing machine for operating the machine to accomplish the elimination of marking on a flooring surface caused by the machine.

A further object of the present invention is a selfpowdered portable floor waxing machine for the treatment of flooring surfaces employing a rotary applicator device rotating about an axis parallel to the surface being treated.

A further object is a portable floor treatment machine employing a soft, fluid carrying applicator surface backed by a rigid drive and carry frame to apply floor treatment fluids to a flooring surface.

Further objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the specification and appended drawings illustrating a preferred embodirnent wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section, illustrating the portable floor waxing machine of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 22 of FIGURE 1 and illustrating the rotary support and drive for the portion of the floor treatment machine actually engaging the floor as well as the fluid application system for the roller assembly of the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2 illustrating the mechanism for supporting the roller assembly on its rotary drive mechanism of the floor waxing machine of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the floor waxing machine of the present invention illustrating portions of the mechanism in section.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 55 of FIGURE 4 and illustrating a foot-operated retracting mechanism for the roller assembly of the present invention.

FIGURE 6 is an alternative mechanism for providing the necessary drive to the roller assembly of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIGURE 1 illustrates the portable floor waxing machine 11 of the present invention supported on a floor surface 12. In general the floor waxing machine comprises a frame structure 13 of formed tubular material to establish a relatively broad rectangular chassis as illustrated in FIGURE 4. The rectangular form includes a closed end portion 14 and two leg portions 15 and 16 having inward extensions 17 and 18 joined to each other by an angle brace 19. A pair of cross members 21 and 22 are secured in a suitable manner to the frame 13 between the end portion 14 and the extensions 17 and 18, respectively, and a pair of U-shaped clamps 23 and 24 are secured to the cross members to carry a fixed axle 25. A pair of wheels 26 and 27 are rotatably supported on the axle in conventional bearings not herein illustrated. The hub 28 of each of wheels 26 and 27 has a drive gear 29 secured to it and these gears are adapted to transmit the driving power from the wheels 26 and 27 to the roller assembly in a manner to be later described.

Above the frame 13 a storage tank 31 is supported on suitable bracing 32 fixed to the front 14 of the frame 13 and to a brace 33 attached to the angle plate 19. The tank 31 is adapted with a filling spout at 34 including a removable cap 35 and a pumping handle 36 for creating a pressure within the tank 31. The tank may also be adapted with other suitable means for creating and maintaining pressure within the tank.

At the rear of the frame 13 and fixed to the angle bracket 19 is a cylindrical bearing support 41 adapted to carry a rotatable axle 42 in bearings 43 and 44. At the lower end of the axle 42 at a reduced-diameter portion thereof a U-shaped wheel support 45 is threaded thereto. The wheel support is adapted to carry a wheel 46 on an axle 47 extending through the support.

At the upper end of the axle 42 at an enlarged-diameter shoulder 48, a handle bracket 49 is secured by a bolt 51 extending through the shoulder. Also secured to the shoulder 48 is a brace 52 and a locking pawl 53 is secured to the brace for cooperation with a pair of fingers 54 attached to a rib 55 secured to the legs of the bracket 49. The pawl 53 and the fingers 54 are engageable to hold the handle in an upright position.

Secured to the closed end of the bracket 49 is a tubular shaft 56 and a T-shaped handle portion having a hollow central portion 57 and a cross bar 58. Pivotally supported on a bracket fixed to the central portion is a lever 59 adapted to control dispensing of fluids from the tank 31 in a manner to be described later.

The actual floor treatment portion of the present invention constitutes a roller assembly 60 rotatably supported at the end of a frame 61. The frame member 61 is pivotally supported on shafts 62 journaled on brackets 63 attached by suitable means to the legs and -16 at the two sides of the frame 13. The shaft 62 and its support is duplicated on both sides of the apparatus; only the support for the shaft at the lower or right-hand end of FIGURE 4 will therefore be described. The drive mechanism to the roller assembly is from wheels 26 and 27 and constitutes transfer gears supported on member 22. The gears are carried on an axle 64 suitably supported on member 22 in a pair of journal brackets 65 and 66. The brackets are adaptable to support ball bearings 67 and 68 as journals for the shaft 64.

On the inboard end of shaft 64 adjacent to the bearing 67, a gear 69 is mounted in a meshing alignment with the teeth of gear 29 driven with wheel 27. This gear and its engagement with gear 29 imparts a rotary motion to shaft 64 through the support in the bearings 67 and 68. Adjacent to the bearing 68 on the outboard end of shaft 64 a sprocket gear 71 is mounted and adapted to engage and drive an endless chain 72. The chain 72 also is in engagement with a sprocket 73 fixed in a manner to be described on the roller assembly 60 of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 illustrates the physical construction of the roller assembly 60 and its rotary drive from the drive wheels 26 and 27. In the following description, as with the description of the drive from the wheels, only one side of the drive mechanism will be described; it should be understood that the drive mechanism is duplicated at each side of the roller assembly.

As illustrated in FIGURE 2, the frame member 61 terminates in an enlarged cross-section slotted member 81 at each side of the floor waxing machine. The member 81 has a slot 82 cut therein to allow for adjustable support and positioning of the roller assembly 60. The actual support of the assembly constitutes a bearing 85 having its inner race clamped between a nut 86 and a spacer 80 on a bolt 83. The bolt 83 extends through the slot 82 in member 81 and its head 84 and a washer cooperate with the outside surface of the member 81 when nut 86 is tightened to secure the bolt in position. Sprocket wheel 73, previously described as driven by the chain 72, is supported on the outer race of the bearing 85 on the hub 74 of the sprocket.

Referring now to FIGURES 3 and 4, it may be seen that a locking mechanism is secured to the hub 74 of the sprocket 73 to provide for driving support of the floor engaging portion of the roller assembly. This locking mechanism constitutes a threaded member 87 secured as by being welded to the hub 74 of the sprocket 73 and is adapted to be engaged by a removable wing nut 88. This locking arrangement is adapted to cooperate with a U-shaped hub 91 which provides the actual support for and driving connection to the roller assembly 60. The hub 74 of the sprocket 73 is flattened at its sides as at 75 and 76 to cooperate with the insides of the legs of the U- shaped hub 91.

The roller assembly as shown in FIGURE 2 constitutes the U-shaped hubs 91 at each outboard end having enlarged-diameter discs 92 secured to their inward ends. The discs 92 are secured to the interior wall at one end of a metal tube or cylinder 93. The roller assembly constitutes independent portions at each side of the assembly so that the right-hand and left-hand cylinders 93 are independent of each other. At the center of the roller assembly the individual cylinders 93 are secured to disc members 94 and the members 94 are adapted to provide a journal for a pair of ball bearings 95. The inner races of the bearings 95 are secured to a shaft 96 and separated by a shoulder 97 on the shaft. The shaft 96 is threaded at each of its outboard ends to be engaged by locking nuts 98 that hold the assembly of the discs 92 and 94 and the cylinder 93 on a shaft 96. Around the entire cylindrical assembly are a pair of pads or applicators 99 that are intended to engage the floor surface as the floor waxing machine is operated. The applicators 99 will be further described hereinafter.

As illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, the applicators 99 are adapted to be supplied with fiuid materials, such as wax or cleaning fluids, from a slotted or pierced feed tube 101. The feed tube 101 is positioned parallel to the axis of applicators 99 and is substantially rigid so as to remain horizontal. The outboard ends of the feed tube 101 terminate in shoulders 102 that are adapted to cooperate with a slotted carrier bracket 103 secured to the inboard side of the slotted brackets 81. The feed tube 101 is thus movable with the frame 61 in the maneuvering of that frame to lift the roller assembly from the floor surface. Attached to the center of the feed tube is a flexible tubing 104 connected at its opposite end to the discharge tubing 105 from the tank 31. Between the discharge 105 and the tube 104 a valve mechanism is provided at 106 and a manual control shaft I107 connects the valve 106 to the control lever 59 on the handle mechanism.

A preferred form for the applicators used with the floor treating machine of the present invention is one of woven wool construction. In the prior art devices where rotary brushes have been used and there has been a problem of creating swirl marks from the brushes. With the woven wool applicator of the present invention no such marking problem has occurred. The applicator is saturated with the floor treating fluid and applies a very thin layer of the fluid to the floor surface as it is rotated. A further complete coverage of the treated surface is accomplished by rotating the applicator in a direction such that its periphery travels over the surface faster than the entire machine. In that manner the fluid being applied to the floor surface is actually worked into the surface rather than being just rolled onto the surface.

As an additional feature, the applicators are easily removed from their rigid metal backing by removing the roller assembly from the machine. The applicators 99 may then he slid off of the support cylinders 93 and easily cleaned or replaced.

The operation of the floor treating machine should be apparent from the description of the elements in the foregoing paragraphs. As illustrated in FIGURE 1, the machine when used as a floor waxing machine will be pulled so that wheel 27 rotates in a clockwise direction. When rotated in that direction the geared and chain drive to the roller assembly 60 causes that assembly to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction. This reversal of rotation of the roller assembly from the rotation of the wheels is an important feature of the present invention. It has been found that with this type of applicator rotation the actual feeding of wax and cleaning fluids to the floor surface is accomplished in a controllable layer without streaking and puddling. Furthermore, in that the entire mechanism is pulled in front of the roller assembly there is no marking from wheels or feet passing over wet, surfaces. The roller assembly is independently driven at each side from its own wheel 26 or 27 and in that way permits the machine to be maneuvered around corners and curves while supplying a substantially uniform layer of waxing or cleaning fluids to the surface.

FIGURE 5 illustrates the manipulation of the frame mechanism 61 to move the roller assembly into and out of engagement with the floor being treated. As there illustrated, the frame 61 is pivoted about shaft 62 by applying force to a pedal portion 111 substantially above the wheel 46. The pedal portion is connected by member 112 to the lower portion of the frame 61 and causes the frame to be pivoted about shaft 62. On the bottom of the pedal .111 a locking pawl 113 is secured and aligned with a detent mechanism 114 secured to the angle bracket 19. As illustrated in FIGURE 5 in solid lines, the pawl is locked in a position to maintain the roller assembly 60 above the floor surface when the pawl 113 engages the detents 114. As shown in FIGURE 4, a release pedal 115 permits the entire assembly to be lowered to engagement with the floor when the mechanism is returned to actual use. In this manner the floor waxing machine may be maneuvered over a floor without having the roller as sembly in engagement with the floor.

An alternative drive mechanism is illustrated in FIG- URE 6 where a positive power drive motor 121 is provided with a sprocket at -122 for engagement with the endless chain 72 adapted to drive the sprocket 73. With this alternative the roller assembly 60 is rotated without moving the machine over the floor surface. Suitable controlling mechanisms are provided to regulate the speed of the motor 121 and it should be understood that the motor 121 may be operated either from a portable power supply carried with the mechanism or through a conventional cable connected to a convenience outlet.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been specifically disclosed, it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto as many variations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadest possible interpretation within the terms of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A portable floor treating machine comprising:

(a) a frame structure including a handle member,

(b) supporting wheels rotatably fixed to said frame structure in engagement with said floor and adapted to support said frame a fixed dimension above the floor to be treated,

'(c) a roller assembly having a central axis and including a wax dispensing applicator, and drive means aligned with said central axis and extending beyond said applicator to transfer rotary drive to said applicator about said axis,

(d) a support member pi-votally supported adjacent its midpoint on said frame, means on one side of said pivotal support for moving said support member with respect to said frame and about said pivotal support, said means on said one side including a releasable locking device for holding said support member in one fixed position, means on the other side of said pivotal support for releasably supporting said roller assembly, said roller assembly support including a rotatably supported driving wheel having a releasable drive transfer mechanism fixed thereto in drivable engagement with said drive means on said roller assembly,

(e) A storage tank for fluid materials to be dispensed through said applicator, means for dispensing said fluid onto said applicator along its surface parallel to said axis of said roller assembly, and tubing con necting said dispensing means to said storage tanl including means for controlling the flow of said fluid (f) and a positive drive mechanism to cause rotatior of said driving wheel on said support member am thereby said applicator about its axis as said machin is rolled along said floor to be treated whereby saic floor treating machine is moved with respect to sair floor to be treated with said roller assembly trailing said machine and said roller assembly is rotated sc that its exterior surface is moving faster than said machine is moving relative to said floor and in the same relative direction as said .machine.

2. The floor treating mechanism of claim 1 including gearing mechanism adapted to rotate said applicator about its axis at a rotational rate such that its exterior surface is moving faster than said frame member is moving with respect to said floor being treated.

3. The floor treating mechanism of claim 1 including gearing mechanism adapted to rotate said applicator about its axis so that the floor engaging and treating surface of said applicator moves in the same direction relative to the floor as said frame structure and at a surface speed faster than the movement of said frame structure with respect to said floor.

4. The floor treating mechanism of claim 1 wherein said drive means on said roller assembly includes a pair of U-shaped hub members fixed to said roller assembly with the axis of said U-shape aligned with said central axis, a slot extending partially through the continuous portion of said U-shape, parallel to said axis of said U- shape and toward said applicator, and wherein said rotatably supported driving wheel includes a means fixed to said wheel cooperating with said slot in said U-shaped hub member to establish said releasable drive transfer mechanism.

5. The floor treating mechanism of claim 4 wherein said pair of U-shaped hub members are independently supported with respect to each other so as to impart independent rotary drive to said roller assembly.

6. The floor treating mechanism of claim 5 wherein said wax dispensing applicator is a pair of pads split substantially at the center of said roller assembly, each of said applicator pads being driven independently by one of said U-shaped hub members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 901,978 10/1908 Mally et a1 15-52 1,546,531 7/1925 Anderson 15-98 3,083,390 4/1963 Wroten 15103.5 3,188,669 6/1965 Beardslee 15--98 FOREIGN PATENTS 545,202; 5/ 1942 Great Britain.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. L. G. MACHLIN, Examiner. 

